This invention relates to tools for use with masonry products that are mixed in and scooped out of a 5-gallon bucket or other similar container having an upper lip, specifically to a time-saving troweling tool having an elongated bucket hook, an enlarged blade, and an angled stem between the handle and the blade, the enlarged blade allowing more masonry product to be scooped from the bucket at one time, the enlarged blade also becoming a counterweight for the handle to maintain the troweling tool in a securely suspended position on the lip of a bucket between uses, and in an orientation that permits excess setting materials to be easily and neatly returned to the bucket; keeps the handle clean and free of masonry product; keeps the handle in a position readily accessible for subsequent use; helps to keep the work area clean and uncluttered; and maintains the troweling tool in a fixed and out-of-the-way position until it is again needed for use.
Masons and tile setters often use 5-gallon buckets to hold semi-fluid masonry products, such as thinset, grout, and other setting materials. These buckets are inexpensive and have become a standard container for working with masonry product that is too wet to be troweled from a board. Commonly, the semi-fluid masonry products are scooped out of the bucket by using a square margin trowel. Then, when the trowel is not being used, its blade is usually placed in a resting position on the upper lip of the bucket. However, this practice often results in the trowel falling into the bucket and the handle at least becoming partially covered with the masonry product, particularly when the bucket is bumped or slid across the floor. Work is slowed each time the handle of the margin trowel must be cleaned prior to a subsequent use. Another temporary placement option for the trowel when it is idle, is to set it directly on the working surface. One of the disadvantages of this practice is that the trowel usually gets in the way. Also, placing it on the working surface typically requires that the trowel be cleaned of excess masonry product prior to doing so, a labor increasing step that is avoided by use of the present invention.
Although the industry is growing, there have been no significant advances in margin trowels for decades. The currently produced margin trowels typically have a standard width dimension of no more than 2 inches. Although they are currently produced in a variety of lengths, their narrow width limits the amount of material they can hold and transfer from a bucket with each scooping motion made into it to obtain masonry product. This means that the user must return to the bucket several times in order to get a working amount of the masonry product, an inefficient process at best. A reduction in the number times that a tile setter or mason would need to scoop masonry product from a bucket, would save time and energy, resulting in a tile setter that is more productive and one that would need to spend less time on his knees.
The invention thought to be the closest to the present invention is U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,546 to Utley (1998). However, the Utley invention can be distinguished from the present invention in numerous ways. The Utley disclosure reveals a semi-cylindrical scoop with top and bottom ends, a handle, a deflector shield attached to the bottom of the handle and having a larger diameter dimension than the handle, a short stem axially aligned with the handle that connects the handle to the scoop, and a short hook downwardly depending from the deflector adjacent to the stem. Further, when the Utley invention is suspended on the lip of a bucket, it is a portion of the deflector that supports it. One disadvantage of the Utley invention is that although it has a considerably larger surface area than many of the two-inch wide margin trowels used today, the semi-cylindrical cavity in the Utley scoop makes it inadequate as a mixing tool for semi-fluid masonry products. In addition, the area within the semi-cylindrical cavity of the Utley invention would be difficult to clean after use with masonry products, and it would not allow easy return of excess mortar or grout to the bucket. Further, the short length of the hook in the Utley invention, as well as the axial alignment of the stem and handle, place a majority of the mass of the Utley invention within a bucket, during its suspension on the upper lip of the bucket, resulting in a likelihood that the Utley invention on occasion could be easily knocked into the bucket, or fall into the bucket during transport. In contrast, the present invention has an elongated bucket hook extending below the connection of its stem to its blade, as well as an angled stem that places much of the stem and the entire handle outside of the bucket perimeter, making it less likely to be inadvertently knocked into the bucket than the Utley invention. The enlarged blade of the present invention is used as a counterbalancing weight, which prevents the present invention from being easily knocked out of the bucket, even when the bucket is bumped or slid across the floor. Another difference between the present invention and the Utley invention is that when the present invention is suspended on the lip of a bucket, it is supported by the portion of the stem adjacent to its blade, which is in an orientation substantially perpendicular to the blade. As mentioned above, the Utley invention is not supported by its stem, but instead by a portion of its deflector, as its stem is in a position substantially parallel to the side of the bucket upon which it is suspended. Therefore, the present invention is not the same as the Utley invention, and no invention is known that has all of the features and advantages of the present invention.
It is the primary object of this invention to provide a time-saving troweling tool that can be securely maintained between uses in an out-of-the-way position on the upper lip of a five-gallon bucket or other similar container. It is a furher object of this invention to provide a troweling tool that can be supported by the upper lip of a bucket so that the masonry product that drips off the trowel will be contained inside the bucket. It is also an object of this invention to provide a troweling tool with a larger blade than is commonly used today, that will hold more materials as well as act as a counterweight for the handle to prevent the tool from falling out of the bucket during transport or when the bucket is slid across a floor, or from being easily knocked out of the bucket when it is inadvertently bumped. A furher object of this invention is to provide a temporary means of storage for a troweling tool that is used intermittently, which does not allow the troweling tool handle to come in contact with the setting materials in a bucket while idle. It is also an object of this invention to provide a troweling tool that is easy to clean and easy to keep clean. It is a further object of this invention to provide a troweling tool that can be maintained in a secure, fixed elevated position away from the working surface, so as not to clutter it. It is also an object of this invention to provide a troweling tool that although it might not offer any manufacturing cost savings over prior art trowels, since there have been no new advances in margin trowels for decades, its improvements would have a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
As described herein, properly manufactured and used, the present invention would provide a labor-saving flat margin trowel with an elongated bucket hook to temporarily hold the trowel in a fixed position on the lip of a 5-gallon bucket when it is between uses. It would be in a readily accessible position for subsequent use, but not directly on the working surface where it could get in the way or potentially drip masonry product onto the working surface. Time-savings would occur since those using the present invention would promptly know where it is located each time it is needed for use, and be able to directly access it for applying more masonry product to the working surface. Since the elongated hook on the present invention would allow it to be securely supported on the bucket lip, the handle of the present invention would not fall into the bucket supporting it and become contaminated with masonry product, even when the bucket is bumped or slid across the floor. Also, the enlarged blade would act as a counterweight for the handle of the present invention, to keep the tool from becoming unbalanced and falling outside the bucket and onto the working surface where it could deposit masonry product and make a mess. This means less mess, and less time cleaning. The present invention would further save time, since it has a larger blade than currently used trowels and would be able to carry more material out of a bucket with each scooping motion, and can be securely maintained between uses in an out-of-the-way position on the upper lip of a bucket. This larger blade would deliver twice as much masonary product with every scoop, enough to set four square feet of tile, instead of only two square feet. It would also save time since the working surface would remain less cluttered and be maintained in a cleaner condition. Further, excess masonry product would not have to be cleaned from the troweling tool before it is set down on the working surface since it would instead be placed on the upper lip of a bucket, and in its temporary suspended position on the upper lip of a bucket masonry product would drip off the trowel into the bucket, not on the working surface. The handle of the present invention would also be larger than prior art margin trowels, adding comfort that makes a job seem easier to its user. Also, the flat configuration of the present invention makes it easy to clean and easy to keep clean. All of these improvements in combination make a troweling tool that permits a tile setter to spend less time on his knees, and thereby be more productive.
Although the description above contains many specific references to dimensions, shapes, materials, and the like, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. For example, blade 18 could have other shapes, such as triangular, trapezoidal, and the like, as well as various thickness dimensions. Also, handle 10 could have other shapes, diameter dimensions, or consist of other materials. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.